Missile Flight Simulation

I recently acquired a copy of "Missile Flight Simulation" by Dr. Jeffrey Strickland. I have worked in missile defense and tactical missile seeker system engineering for more than 20 years and I find this to be one of the more useful items in my missile flight dynamics library, after Zarchan's priceless "Tactical and Strategic Missile Guidance."Dr. Strickland first provides a solid grounding in missile fundamentals, the physics of flight, and associated missile systems/subsystems in the first three chapters - after that the reader is plunged into a solid mathematical treatment of the physics of missile flight and flight simulation of missiles and targets. In later chapters there is a first-rate treatment of guidance and control and missile seekers - EO/IR and RF - at various levels of simulation fidelity, as well as a solid treatment of HWIL simulation techniques and pros/cons. The final third of the text concentrates on a systematic development of a missile as a system, and the translation of missile systems engineering into equivalent software engineering and algorithm development, including several helpful Matlab/Simulink examples.I would like to close by stating two observations, which are, of course, only my personal opinion. First, this is a very valuable reference for expert-level practitioners of missile-systems engineering and missile flight simulation, and a great addition to the technical library of anyone involved in missile systems engineering and missile flight simulation. Secondly, I would like to state what - in my opinion - it is NOT. I don't think that this is a standalone textbook - I would find it quite difficult to use this book as a textbook, even at the graduate level - either as a student or as an instructor. In all fairness, I think it stands on its own as a reference and would make a valuable adjunct to a graduate level text in this area (e.g., Zarchan's text).If you are a practicing missile systems engineer or heavily invested in missile flight simulation - from low-fidelity link-budget models to high-fidelity 6-DOF flyout simulations - this is a must have for your reference library.

The information in this book can be gained by reading nearly any aerodynamics book or just attending briefings. I was hoping for a technically dense book that illustrated some of the nuances of missile simulation

Complete overview over missile simulation. Everything is there.

Highly recommended for anyone working on missile or unmanned aircraft simulations. I've been developing flight simulators for 15+ yrs and yet I found some new techniques to add to my simulations on day one of having the book. I would recommend the author get a better editor though.

Excellent book provides insights on a college level on missile flight modeling and simulation.

I have been involved in engineering analysis and simulation for 41 years and specifically in tactical missile modeling and design for 26 years. I am currently responsible for introducing new staff engineers to mathematical and physical concepts required to understand operation and performance of tactical missile functional systems. I purchased this book based on the review provided by Mr. Mcglynn.Tactical guided missile design involves virtually every field of classical physics and engineering science and as such, attempting to explain the underlying physics and mathematical concepts as well as computer implementation in a single book is going to be at an introductory level at best. I feel that Mr. Mcglynn has focused on the positives of the book, rather than acknowledging that there are a number of flaws and shortcomings.Things that are "right" about this book include the overall introduction in Chapter 2. It provides a decent overview of the various missile subsystems on the most part, and I believe this is the best feature of the book overall. The author provides a description of the subsystems in more detail in other chapters: Chapter 4 on missile dynamics derives the 6-DoF equations in sufficient detail. Chapter 6 on propulsion is adequate as a description of rocket motors. More discussion of air-breathing engines would be useful. Discussion of target motion in chapter 7 and scene simulation in chapter 9 are topics that are adjunct to describing missile physics and functional design, but certainly are important in simulation and as such are helpful as reference topics. Chapters 10, 11 and 12 are dealing with computer implementation issues. In my opinion, these are written at an overview level, and the numerical implementation in Chapter 12 in particular could have been deleted.Things that I believe need improvement in the book counterbalance its positives to a large degree. First and foremost is that I believe the author did not adequately describe guided missiles in terms of feedback control system concepts. These concepts are alluded to, but not in any detail. My contention is that without a firm grasp of these concepts, understanding the target tracker, flight control and overall guidance loop itself are not possible. Many people new to missile simulation come with training in computer science, classical physics and mathematics but have no exposure to control systems engineering. A chapter needs to be included discussing linear systems, Laplace transforms and the rudiments of control systems. One example of this shortcoming is discussion of CLOS guidance where the author describes that guidance requires both an offset error and an offset error rate. The reason for the rate term is not apparent unless one understands feedback control system stability.In my opinion, chapter 4 on aerodynamics, which admittedly is a tough subject,is the least satisfying of the book. It does not adequately explain the physics or thermodynamics of compressible fluid flow; it is confusing in places and outright wrong in one section. The overall tenor is that this description was based on subsonci wing theory and airplane aerodynamics theory which differ from Body-Wing-Tail missile supersonic aerodynamics in several major respects. There is no mention of how shock wave physical characteristics and wave drag. The author appears not to be aware of slender body aerodynamic theory applicable to missiles.I also felt that no mention of the navigation system and its relation to both flight control and guidance systems is a serious omission. In several places the author states that the missile doesn't have its velocity vector available. All modern missiles have an inertial measurement unit that provides this. Proportional Navigation (PN) guidance is arguably the most important guidance concept to understand for missileers. I feel that the discussion of this does not provide adequate detail. I would recommend the series of six papers by the staff of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (available online at no cost).Other areas that I feel are not developed in sufficent detail for a reference book are the discussion of coordinte transforms, which are relegated to an appendix with little explanation of how they are developed. In my experience coordinate transforms and their computation present a major source of problems translating mathematical models into a working missile simulation. Somewhat related is a lack of detail about "aerodynamic trim" 3-DoF models and what they imply about 3-DoF simulation coordinate transforms. I didn't see where the "Pseudo-5 DoF" simualtion approach was addressed at all.As an aside, there are many typographical errors, which are quite confusing to the neophyte and the typesetting could be improved. Fixing these errors (or providing an errata list) would help with readability.Overall, the book should provide a starting point for people being introduced to missile simulation, and the relatively low price provides decent value per dollar for people entering this business; however, I don't believe that even moderately experienced missileers will gain a great deal this book.

It describes in detail every step of a missile simulation. It covers all topics and yet it is very detailed.

The depth of professional discussions is not enough. Neither the missile flight dynamics nor the simulation theory. But anyway, it provided required knowledges in some degree. Could be used as a reference book.